How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science

by Michael Shermer

New York: W.H. Freeman & Company, 2000. 302 pages.

How We Believe explores how and why people maintain religious beliefs, examining psychological and social aspects of the question, and the relationship between religious belief and scientific thought. Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society and a professor in the Cultural Studies Program at Occidental University, closes his preface by remarking that he hopes that this study "adds to our understanding of the human condition." How We Believe includes sections on "God and Belief" and "Religion and Science"; and appendices on "What Does It Mean to Study Religion Scientifically?" and "Why People Believe In God — The Data and Statistics". Philosopher Michael Ruse commented, "... [He] obviously cares about the issues on which he writes. I loved his discussions of God and of morality, and when I disagree I simply want to argue the more."